Brackett v. St. Mary's Hospital,
No. X01CV970140111S (Conn. Super. Ct. Jan. 31, 2002)

A hospital that suspended the privileges of a physician served subpoenas requesting peer review documents from several other local hospitals. The hospital wanted to use credentials and quality assurance files to defend against a lawsuit that the physician had filed against the hospital for lost wages allegedly resulting from her suspension. The Connecticut Superior Court granted the hospital's request to obtain the physician's application for medical staff appointment from two other hospitals. Based upon the construction and scope of the state peer review statute, the court held that the privilege only prevented the discovery of the applications in a civil action against a health care provider "arising out of the matters which are subject to the evaluation and review" of peer review committees. The court held that the privilege did not apply in this particular case because this suit did not arise out of the matters which were subject to review by the credentials committees in either of the hospitals.